One skill I’ve learned over the years is to keep a positive attitude. I’m the first to admit that I lose my way sometimes but 9 out of 10 times I’m able to find the light and find my way back. I’ve seen way too many people wallow in their sorrows and feel bad for themselves. Not only making themselves miserable but the people around them miserable too. I knew that would never be me.

Life is hard, but does that mean you need to succumb to tough times? No! that’s when it’s time to get tough. I truly believe you can train your brain to be positive. Here are five small, but important tricks for maintaining a positive outlook.

Turn a negative situation into a positive. So you just spent the last month interviewing for a great job – it’s something you want very bad, and it’s the perfect role for you. You’re down to final rounds of interviews and you get the call that they’re not choosing you. That’s a tough call to receive and sure, you’re feeling pretty bad about it, and give yourself that day and night to feel the sadness, but in the morning wake up and find that positive side of the experience. !) You received unbelievable interviewing experience- something that will make you more prepared for the next role you interview for; 2) You’ll find a better fit. You’ll find the right role where the employer wants you as much as you want them; 3) Use this as a learning experience, what are the things you can do better/different for the next round of interviews.

Never let yourself stay down. Sure it’s a sad and tough situation to be turned down for a job you really wanted, especially if it’s happened multiple times. But gear up for a battle let this negative situation motivate and drive you to do better. Don’t let this beat you, you’re tougher than a simple rejection.

Don’t sweat the small stuff. Have you seen the road-rager’s? The people who lose their minds when someone mergers in front of them, or when the car in front of them is slower than they’d like. Are you one of these people? Sure, we’ve all been guilty of getting upset behind the wheel, but I’m talking about the people that lose their minds, can’t regain composure and become a different person behind the wheel. One word of advice for them “relax” – How much faster do you think you’re going to get somewhere –maybe you save about 30 seconds, but really you gain nothing except for high anxiety and high blood pressure.

Stop sweating the small stuff and you’ll feel better for it in the end. You’ll feel calmer and more in control if you can just let the small things go. So what…let that person merge in front of you. It’s really no big deal in the long run. Work to keep your body in a calm place and you’ll make smarter decisions in the long run that keep you in a positive place.

Visualize Success. No great athlete ever sees themselves losing. And I’ll even go one step further and say that most of the great athletes have big egos. I’m not suggesting you go and get yourself a big ego, but what I am suggesting is that you think good thoughts. If you think you’ll succeed, then you have a better chance of succeeding versus if you think you’ll fail. There’s no guarantee here, but visualize your success whether it’s losing weight, exercise or winning a race. Visualize getting up early for that workout and it will be easier for you to do it. Visualize your success and you’re on your way to achieving your goal.

Be solution oriented, Sure, you’re going to run into problems and roadblocks. This is bound to happen. This is part of life – you’re not doomed and bad luck doesn’t follow you. Don’t “let” bad things happen to you, find a solution. Are you unhappy at work, or don’t get along with your boss? Well, what’s something that can help you be happier at work? What are things you can do to help you get along with your boss. No one is going to solve your problems for you, and you can’t expect someone to change for you. You can only control what’s in your power to control. Be solution oriented find a way in your control to create a better environment. Have you tried the same thing over and over again and it’s just not working – well come up with a different plan, try something different. Stop knocking your head against the wall with the same plan and go at it a different way.

If at first you don’t succeed try, try again– this goes along with being solution oriented. I was searching for my next job and after 6 months of roadblocks and rejection I decided to sit down and come up with “Phase 2” – it was time for me to do something different – I needed to work harder, smarter and try some things that were on my list to do, but I hadn’t gotten to yet. This is when I decided to open up my own Marketing company “West Loop Marketing”. I joined a few networking groups like “Professional Women’s Club of Chicago (PWCC)” and “FemCity”. I also decided to amp up my networking – focusing on 3 networking activities a week. Not only did this motivate me to regain control, but I felt like I was doing something – I wasn’t sitting around and doing the same things over and over again, but I was taking control and making things happen.

You are who you think you are. Believe in yourself and good things will come, it may not come exactly when you want it to, but it will come your way. Never give up on yourself and know that life is not always going to be easy. It will be hard. Equip yourself with the tools you need to stay positive and you will always be a winner in my book!